Mine
by writergirrrl22
Summary: "You know, I really can't ever leave you alone."  He smirked his little crooked smirk that sent my heart flying.  I wanted to kiss that smirk right off his face, but I didn't.
1. Working Part Time Waiting Tables

**A/N: yes it's true. i have officially jumped onto the Eclare bandwagon. i'm sorry i just couldn't help it! he's so friggin' cute! and he's sweet to clare! and oh my gosh, he's cute! ATTENTION: FOR THOSE OF YOU READING CALIFORNIA GIRL, i'm not quitting that. i may be on board for Eli/Clare, but i haven't completely given up hope for KC/Clare. and i promise i'll put up a new chapter soon, but i have writer's block! so if any of you guys want to give me some ideas for the next chapter of that, it would be most ****appreciated :)**

**disclaimer: as always, i own nothing that pertains to the degrassi world.**

I walked into The Dot, where Eli had recently been hired to work part time waiting tables. I sat down at a table by the window and looked for him. I spotted him in a corner near the back, taking some couple's order. He looked up, saw me, and smiled that smile of his that drove me crazy. I smiled back, and my heart fluttered when he waved at me. I waved back, and he winked. I giggled and felt myself blushing, so I looked down. When I looked back up, he was still smiling at me and his costumers were getting angry.

"Pay attention," I mouth, pointing to the couple and laughing.

"What?" He mouths, looking to where I was pointing, and doing a double take.

I laugh again, but then I remember exactly why I'm here in the first place. I look down at my hands until I hear the door open. Out of habit I look up to see who it is. Jenna and KC walk in. Jenna avoids me completely, and KC looks in my direction, smiles briefly, and keeps walking. A year ago that would have sent my heart racing, but today, I felt nothing. No, actually, I almost felt disgust. I had heard all the things he had done this year. I also knew something Jenna obviously didn't: he was cheating again. Only, this time, it was on her, not me. Alli had caught him and Bianca behind the dumpster the other day. She had taken a picture and sent it to me.

KC and Jenna walked past me, and I shook my head to clear it.

"Hey, beautiful," Eli said as he walked up to me. I smiled at him. "I'll be right back with your usual," he said, bending down to kiss me on the cheek.

"Okay," I said happily, smiling. He winked again, before he walked off and I sighed. Eli and I weren't official yet, but he had still made a habit of kissing me on the cheek at least twice a day. "In a friendly way," he had said when I asked him about it. I knew he meant it as more than just a friendly way, and sometimes I wondered why he didn't just ask me out already, but I knew why. I had asked Adam about it. "He knows you're not ready for a relationship," Adam had told her, "He doesn't want to pressure you into anything you're not ready for." I have to say, that made me okay with him not asking me out yet.

"KC, I can't believe you!" Jenna screamed. I turned to look at her, and she was standing up at their table, tears streaming down her face.

"Jenna, I'm so sorry," KC said, but Jenna ignored him.

"We're through! I never want to see you again!" She yelled, running out of The Dot as fast as she could. It was the most cliché breakup I had ever witnessed.

I turned back around, but before I did, I saw KC look at me and start to get up.

_C'mon, Eli, hurry up and get here, _I thought. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw KC walking towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, and silently prayed. _Please don't let him come to me, please don't let him come to me, please don't come to me.  
_"Clare," KC asked. I opened my eyes and tried not to let my disappointment show.

"Hey, KC," I said, looking anywhere but at him.

He sat down in front of me, and didn't say anything. I kept looking over to the counter to where Eli was, trying to make eye-contact with him.

After a few more moments of awkward silence, I finally looked at KC.

"What do you want?" I asked in a defeated voice. That shocked KC, he had never heard me say anything so rude.

After he recovered, he said, "I just want to talk to you."

"Okay, go," I said. He sat there again, looking conflicted.

"I miss you," he finally said. "Like I said at the end of last year, things got bad after we broke up, and I'm not blaming Jenna or anyone else, because I know that I'm to blame for most of it. I just need some stability in my life, and I had that with you…so I was wondering if you'd maybe give me another chance?"

"Oh, KC," I said, "No."

"What?" He asked in disbelief, "I just poured my heart out to you, I miss you so much, I miss being with you all the time and talking to you, and…"

KC kept rambling and I looked over at Eli again. This time I caught his attention. He smiled at me while he was pouring our coffee. While I had his attention, I cut my eyes to where KC was sitting. Eli didn't get it, so I did it again. This time he followed where my eyes and saw KC. His expression changed from amused to angry quickly. Eli knew what KC did to me, and he wasn't exactly one to forgive easily. He put down the coffee pot and practically jumped over the counter while I turned back to KC and pretended to look natural.

"Dude, what do you think you're doing," Eli asked when he got to where I was sitting.

KC looked up and said, "I'm trying to talk to Clare."

"Well, if you know what's good for you, you'll get your scrawny ass up and leave."

KC looked at me, with hurt in his eyes. "Why are you doing this?" He asks me quietly.

I looked him dead in the eye, "You're not the guy I thought you were. I know why Jenna broke up with you, I know about Bianca."

"Do I have to make you leave?" Eli asked, "Because you don't want that."

"No man," KC said angrily, grabbing his stuff and standing up. "I'm done here."

"Good," Eli said, "And if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from Clare."

KC pushed past Eli and out the door. Eli followed him with his eyes, glaring at him the whole way. As soon as KC was out the door, Eli was kneeling next to me.

"Are you okay, did he hurt you?" Eli asked, his hands hovering over my shoulders and arms, finally landing on my hands. He grabbed them, and held them softly, looking me in the eyes. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm fine, he didn't touch me." I said quickly. "I just really didn't want to be around him."

"And that's it," Eli said, making sure. I nodded my head. "Okay, I'm going to get our coffees, do you think I can leave you alone for ten seconds without you getting into trouble?" He smirked and his green eyes sparkled.

"I'll try my very hardest," I said, laughing.

Eli smiled at me again and squeezed my hands quickly. I watched him as he left and sighed happily. How exactly did I manage to stumble across him?

"Hey, Peter," I heard Eli say as he took off the little half apron thing he was forced to wear, "I'm taking off now."

"That's the third time this week, man," Peter complained.

"Gotta spend some time with my lady," Eli said as he grabbed our coffees. I rolled my eyes, even though I loved that he would say that. "I'll catch ya later," he said as he was walking back to me.

"Oh, good, you're still here," Eli said when he sat down and handed me my coffee. "You know, I really can't ever leave you alone." He smirked his little crooked smirk that sent my heart flying. I wanted to kiss that smirk right off his face, but I didn't.

"So, I'm your lady?" I asked, ignoring his previous comment.

Eli looked slightly embarrassed. He obviously didn't know I had heard him.

"Um, so you texted me? Said it was something important?" He asked, cleverly avoiding my question.

"Um, yeah," I said, remembering why I had come here in the first place. "I just talked to my parents."

I paused and looked up into Eli's piercing green eyes. He said nothing, just waited for me to continue. He knew this was a touchy subject for me.

"Well, um, my dad is…leaving." Eli's eyes got huge, and I continued, "Well, actually my mom is kicking him out. He cheated, they're getting a divorce." When I said the word divorce, my voice cracked and the tears started swelling in my eyes.

Eli reached across the table and grabbed one of my hands. He rubbed gentle circles on it with his thumb, trying to soothe me.

"They're not going to try marriage counseling?" He asked, trying to give me some hope.

I shook my head, swallowing hard.

"My mom doesn't want to. She wants him out of our lives," I started crying and Eli got up quickly to sit next to me, pulling me close and wrapping his arms around me. I rested my head on his shoulder and cried into it.

"Shh, shh, don't cry, love," he said, stroking my hair. "Everything will be okay, I promise you."

"She's so heartbroken," I sobbed, "How could he do this to her? To us? We trusted him! Loved him! And he betrayed us for some blonde skank!"

"I know, I know," he soothed, "Shh, shh…It'll all be okay."

I looked up at him.

"I just can't believe he would do this. I can't believe he's leaving. Eli, what am I going to do?" The sobs came again, and buried my face into his chest.

He bent down and kissed the top of my head. "You don't have to do anything, just stay right here in my arms forever." He smoothed my hair and kissed the top of my head again, and then once more after that.

I laughed through my tears.

"What?" He asked, a small smile on his lips.

"I'm just…so glad I have you," I answered sitting up and wiping my eyes. "And if I could, I would stay in your arms forever."

"What do you mean if you could?" He asked. "You totally could, there's nothing stopping you."

I let out a small laugh, and we smiled at each other for a few moments.

"Come with me," he said suddenly. He grabbed our bags and my hand and we left The Dot. When we got to Morty, he opened the passenger side door for me.

"Where are we going?" I asked when he shut his door, laughing.

"You'll see," he said, smiling as he revved up his hearse.

**review! come on! you know you waaaaaaanttt toooo! :)**


	2. Fear of Falling

**A/N: oh my god, you guys. yall are amazing! i woke up this morning and had 50 emails from fanfiction about this story! i'm really glad you guys like it so much :)  
anyway, sorry this chapter is so short, i'll update again soon :) **

"Quick! Close your eyes!" Eli said as he put Morty in park.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"You'll see, just close them!" He got out of the hearse and ran around to my side. I sighed, not only closing my eyes, but also covering them with my hands. I heard him open my door, and he took one of my hands off of my eyes and held it to help me out of the car.

"Where are we going?" I asked, giggling. He was now walking behind me with his hands over my eyes.

"We're almost there," he answered.

"Eli…"

"Okay, open your eyes in 3, 2, 1!" When he said one, his hands flew off my face and I gasped.

"Oh my gosh, Eli," I said, "It's beautiful."

I found myself standing at the end of a long dock, looking out onto a lake at sunset. The sky was orange, red, and purple, and it was all reflected back on the water, which was sparkling in the evening light.

"It sure is," he said. He was standing beside me, and I looked up at his face. He was just staring at me. After a few moments of that, he said, "Here, take your shoes off."

I slipped my sandals off as he pulled off his socks and shoes, and rolled up his black jeans to his knees. He sat down on the edge of the dock and patted the spot next to him.

"Sit by me," he said, smiling. I smiled back and sat down close to him. After a few moments, he put his arm around me.

We watched the sun set, and after it set and all the lights came on around the water, we sat there and talked. We talked about everything: his plans after high school, what we wanted to do with our lives, our parents. I confided in him about my fear of falling in love again. At one point, I wondered aloud why we bother with love if it never lasts. He told me love always lasts, some people just don't realize it, or appreciate what they have. After a few hours, I was getting tired. I had been resting my head on his shoulder and was starting to drift off when he looked at his watch.

"I better get you home, it's getting pretty late," he said quietly.

"No," I mumbled sleepily, snuggling closer to him. "I don't wanna go home."

"You have to," he answered. "Where are you going to sleep? You can't stay out here all night."

"I don't know," I mumbled. "But you promised I could stay here in your arms forever."

"I guess you could sleep at my house," he said uncertainly, "If you want."

"As long as you promise to not take advantage of me," I said.

"Clare," Eli said seriously.

"I'm kidding, I know you won't," I said, giggling.

Eli sighed. "Call your mom and tell her you're spending the night at Alli's."

He sat there and waited while I called my mom.

"Hey mom," Clare said. "No, I've been with Alli. Yeah, I meant to call you, but we fell asleep watching a movie. Is it okay if I spend the night with her? Okay, thanks mom. Bye."

I hung up my cell phone, then texted Alli and told her my plan. She said she'd cover for me if my mom called, but only if I promised to tell her everything tomorrow. I agreed, then put my phone back in my pocket.

Eli stood up, then offered his hand to help me up. When I was up, he grabbed his shoes, and started walking quickly back to Morty. He seemed upset about something.

"Hey," I said, grabbing his arm before he got too far. He turned back and looked at me, all the amusement that had been on his face tonight gone. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear before I asked him, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said.

"No, there's something wrong," I said softly, "You can tell me."

Eli ran his hands through his hair and looked around before looking at me and saying, "This is just…like…it's just…I mean, we're not even dating, and you're coming to spend the night at my house?"

"Hey, calm down," I said, stepping towards him. "If anyone should be worried, it should be me. I'm the one with the purity ring, see?" I held up my hand with the ring on it. "But I'm not, because nothing's going to happen. I trust you, Eli."

"Okay," he said, "I just don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Don't worry, I won't feel uncomfortable," I walked up to him and put my arm around his waist, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we started walking back to Morty. "Besides, I was kinda hoping this was our first date."

We stopped walking and he smirked down at me. I smiled at him.

"Okay," he said, sounding more confident, "This was our first date."

I laughed as we started walking again.

**reviewww please!**


	3. As We're Lying on the Couch

**A/N: sorry it's been so long since i updated. also, i probably won't be able to update again for like a week or two. i'll try to get it done before then though. anyway, i personally don't like how i wrote this chapter. i love the idea, but i don't think i did it very well. also i think i might have accidentally gone out of character in it for both eli and clare.**

**but anyway, i hope you like it! don't forget to review!**

"Where's your mom?" I asked as we walked into his house.

Eli flipped on the lights in his kitchen and put the keys to Morty on the counter.

"She's spending the weekend at her boyfriend's house," he answered.

"Oh," I said. I thought Ms. Goldsworthy would be here, that's why I wasn't worried back at the lake. I had met Eli's mom a couple of times, and she loved me. She would have let me stay here, of course, so it's not like we were breaking rules, but it felt like we were since she wasn't here.

"You hungry?" Eli asked, opening the fridge and immediately rummaging through it.

"No, I'm good," I answered.

"Hmm, better take a seat," he said while inspecting a jar of mayonnaise. Then he looked up at me and smiled, "I'm gonna make me a sammich."

I laughed and rolled my eyes, but hoped up on the counter anyway.

While he was making the largest sandwich I had ever seen, we talked some more.

"Are you really going to eat that whole thing?" I asked when he had finished making his sandwich.

"You know, I kinda don't want to," he said, staring at it, "It's beautiful, a masterpiece, a work of art! It's the greatest sandwich alive!"

He stared at it for another half a second, then shrugged, said, "Oh well," picked it up and started eating.

It took Eli all of five minutes to eat his masterpiece. After he finished, he looked at me and smiled proudly.

I laughed loudly.

"What?" He asked.

"You have mayonnaise all over your lips," I laughed.

"Oh, well, that's okay, you can just kiss it off," he said nonchalantly.

Still laughing, I shook my head no.

"No way," I said.

He came closer, puckering his mayonnaise covered lips. "Aw, come on, please? Just one little kiss."

"Ew," I said, laughing hysterically, "Get away from me, mayo mouth!"

I jumped off the counter, and started running away, still laughing uncontrollably.

"One kiss, just one kiss!" He yelled, as he chased me around the kitchen.

"No!" I shrieked.

"Yes! Kiss me Clare! You must taste the mayo-y goodness!"

"I don't even like mayonnaise!" I said.

When I said that, he stopped and put his hand on his chest like he was in pain, then sarcastically said, "Ouch, that hurts me, Clare. Have you even tried mayonnaise before?"

I shook my head no.

"Well how do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it? It's very delicious."

"I just know I don't," I answered him, breathing heavily and hiding behind a chair for protection.

"Just try it," he said, coming towards me slowly. I watched him carefully, and when he was too busy being right in front of me and staring into my eyes to notice, I grabbed a napkin from the stack on the table beside me and hid it behind my back.

"Okay," I said, staring straight into his eyes. He started leaning closer to me, and when he started to close his eyes, I started to close mine too. When his eyes were all the way closed I snapped mine open and waited until his mayonnaise covered mouth was right in front of me. Then, at the last possible second, I whipped the napkin out from behind my back and shoved it onto his mouth. His eyes immediately popped open in shock.

"Hey, no fair!" He said. I giggled.

"I would have thought you would have seen that coming," I said, and walked to the trash can on the other side of the room to throw away the mayo-covered napkin. Eli just stared at me with a sort of half-smile on his face.

"Let's go watch TV," I said, turning to hide my burning cheeks from him.

I walked into his living room, plopped down on the couch, and turned on the TV. He sat down next to me. I flipped through the channels until I found one playing my favorite movie.

"Oh! I love this movie!" I said.

"A Walk to Remember?" Eli asked skeptically. "That's seriously your favorite movie?"

"Yes," I said, "Why shouldn't it be?"

Eli just smiled and put his arm around me. I leaned into him. The movie had just started, and after a few minutes, I was totally absorbed in it. Eli sat quietly beside me, probably amused by how into the movie I was.

"Oh, this is my favorite scene," I said when it got to the part when Landon and Jamie were on their first date. Eli snorted. I looked up at him and he was rolling his eyes. When he saw me looking at him, he immediately became serious.

He looked me straight in the eye, and, exactly when Shane West's character said it, Eli said, "I might kiss you."

I stared at him in shock, not sure if he really would.

"I might be bad at it," I said along with Mandy Moore's character.

"That's not possible," Eli said, leaning closer. My breath caught and he was on my lips. He kissed me like I'd never been kissed before. My heart pounded and both of our breathing was ragged, like we'd both been running for the last hour without a break. All too soon, his lips were gone, as we sat there catching our breath.

I looked at him and he smiled at me. I just grabbed his face and kissed him again, pulling him on top of me. He put his arms on either side of me, keeping his weight off. My mind started racing, worrying about our current position of lying on the couch. But Eli knew my boundaries, and he didn't try to cross them.

After a few minutes, we broke apart again. I looked up at him and smiled. He rearranged our positions so we were lying on the couch side by side to finish watching the movie.

"So," I said, "I take it you've seen this movie before?"

He laughed.

"Actually, I have."

"Did you cry?" I teased.

"Pfft, no."

"You so cried!" I said, and he just rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you-" He cut me off with his lips.

When we broke apart this time, I said, "Your new favorite way of winning an argument, I presume."

"Maybe I just like kissing you," he said, smiling down at me. "If it helps me win arguments, hey, that's a bonus!"

"Mhmm," I said, kissing him again, then mumbling into his lips, "It won't help."

We watched the rest of the movie, and part of the one that came on after that, until he noticed me yawning frequently.

"You wanna go to bed?" He asked softly. I nodded sleepily. He got up, and then helped me up. We walked to his room, holding hands. When we got there, he offered me a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts to sleep in, then showed me where the bathroom was.

As I was changing, I wondered if Darcy had ever done something like this. My heart raced as I walked back to Eli's room, wearing his clothes.

Eli was standing in the middle of his room in his boxers and an undershirt, looking confused.

"Um," he said when he saw me, "I can sleep on the couch if you want me too."

"No, Eli, sleep in here," I said, walking over and sitting on his bed.

"Okay," he said, grabbing a pillow. He started to make up a place to sleep on the floor next to his bed.

"No," I laughed, "Eli, please just lay with me, and stop worrying about it!"

He came over and sat down next to me on the bed.

"Okay," he said, then he looked at me and smiled. He kissed me on the forehead, then said, "I could sleep on top of the covers if you want me too."

"Eli," I said, no longer amused.

"Okay," he said, and I got under the covers. He turned out the light, then joined me.

"Goodnight, Eli," I said, kissing him.

"Goodnight, Clare."

I fell asleep in his arms. It was the best sleep I had ever had. No screaming parents down the hall to wake me up, no nightmares, and no worries.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing.

I rolled over and snuggled into Eli's chest. With my eyes still closed, I sighed happily, "Will you see who it is for me?"

Eli kissed my forehead and the ringing stopped.

"Hello?" He asked. I hadn't meant for him to answer the phone, but he was smart. It was probably Alli. "Oh, hi KC."

My eyes snapped open.

**reviews=love! how am i supposed to know if you like it if you don't tell me? :)**


	4. It Never Lasts

**A/N: chapter four! sorry if it's way ooc. sorry if it sucks! whatever though, enjoy!**

"Hi KC," Eli said, and my eyes snapped open. I sat up straight in the bed, looking at him.

"Elijah Goldsworthy, you better be kidding me," I said.

"No, Clare's right here," he said, talking to whoever was on the phone (I was praying it wasn't KC). "Clare, he wants to talk to you."

My eyes got wide and I frantically shook my head back and forth. "I'm not here!" I whispered.

"Ohhh, okay," he said to me, then said to KC, "She's not here."

I sighed, and expected him to hang up the phone, but instead he said, "Clare, he knows you're here."

I angrily snatched the phone from him, then covered up the speaker to say, "Eli, if he finds out I'm here, he'll tell everyone at Degrassi!"

"So?" Eli asked. "It's not like we did anything but sleep."

"But everyone at Degrassi's gonna jump to the worst possible conclusion!" I said.

"Okay, I'll fix it," he said, holding his hand out for the phone. I handed it to him, and he said, "Okay, I have a few things to say, so listen carefully. One: Clare is not here, but she came over last night to watch a movie and left her cell phone here. Two: Clare and I are now dating. And three: I'm pretty sure I told you to leave Clare alone, and now that she and I are dating, that goes double."

He snapped my phone shut.

I fell back and sighed in relief, lying with my head at the foot of the bed.

"I can't believe what almost happened," I said.

Suddenly Eli's face was in front of mine.

"Clare, what are you so worried about?" He asked. "Did you think I was actually gonna let that guy know you spent the night at my house?"

"Eli!" I practically yelled, "Yes!"

He looked at me with faux-hurt in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.

"I know you, and that is exactly what you were planning on doing," I said, "You wanted him to be jealous, you'd do anything to make him mad!"

"Well, I didn't, so that should count for something, right?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and smiling down at me.

"Oh, just come here," I rolled my eyes and grabbed his face, bringing it down to me so we could kiss.

After we broke apart, we stayed in bed, wrapped in each other's arms for a few more minutes, then we got up, got dressed and left his house.

The first place we went was my house. He waited outside while I talked to my mom and put on fresh clothes. After a good fifteen or twenty minutes I was finally able to escape my house.

"That took long enough," Eli smirked as I opened the passenger door to Morty and got in.

I rolled my eyes, but ignored his snide remark.

"Where are we going today?" I asked.

"The Dot," he said, "I'm starving."

When we got there, we were the first ones there.

"Hey guys," Peter said when we came in, "I gotta go talk to the owner about some Above the Dot stuff real quick. Eli, I know you don't work today, but if you wanted to just-"

"Oh, no," Eli said, "I'm spending the day with Clare, not working. We'll just wait for you to come back."

Peter frowned. I could tell he had been hoping to get Eli to work for free. Eli just smirked at him.

We stood at the counter waiting. Our arms were touching, and we were holding hands. After a few minutes, I rested my head on Eli's shoulder and sighed happily. He bent down and kissed my head; I could feel him smiling.

When Peter came back, we ordered coffee, then sat down at a table in the very back.

We sat for an hour, sipping coffee, holding hands, and talking. I could never get tired of talking to Eli, I decided. We had our little flirtatious banter going, but for the most part, he listened to me talk about my family; about Darcy's rape, her suicide attempts, losing her virginity in an attempt to wash away the rape, then finally her moving to Kenya. I told him about having to go to family therapy for her for months, and how much I hated going. I told him about how I would probably be going to family therapy again, but for my parents rather than my sister.

Finally, I brought up last night.

"Last night was…" I started.

"The best night of our teenage lives?" He smirked at me.

"Extremely out of character for me," I said. "I don't think I'll be doing anything that rebellious again anytime soon."

"We'll see about that," he said.

"Eli, I'm serious."

"I know, I know. I just want to see you smile. Besides, Clare, we didn't do anything wrong. But of course, we won't do it again." He leaned down and kissed the back of my hand as it was intertwined with his. He looked up from our hands to find me staring at him. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing it's just…" I thought carefully about what I was about to say. I'd known Eli for almost six months. I didn't think I was in love with him yet, but I knew I was falling fast. Finally I said, "You are the best thing that's ever been mine."

There, I smiled. I was proud of myself for being able to tell him exactly how I felt with saying that I loved him.

"And I am yours," he smiled. "And you're mine."

His cell phone buzzed, and as he pulled it out of his back pocket I looked around the Dot. It was moderately full of people already, even though it was 9:30 AM on a Saturday.

"Alli says, 'Tell Clare to answer her phone!'" Eli said.

"What?" I asked, bringing my attention back to him. "You have Alli's phone number?"

"She gave it to me 'just in case.' Now answer your phone before she has an aneurism."

"Oh, right," I said, pulling out my phone and opening it. "I guess I put it on silent after this morning." I looked at him and he smiled at me knowingly.

As I sat there reading Alli's 10 million text messages, feeling Eli smiling at me, I didn't notice the door open.

"I see you got your phone back."

Eli and I both looked up at the same time to find KC standing beside our table.

"Uh, yeah," I said to him, then looked back at my phone.

"I didn't think you were that kind of girl, Clare," he said.

I stopped reading. I felt Eli stiffen, and he let go of my hand to clench his fists. The anger boiled up in me quickly, and I looked back up at him.

"What exactly do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm not judging you," he said, "But I always thought you meant it when you said 'Pure hearts wait.'"

Eli stood up.

"What did you just say?" Eli asked.

"I just didn't expect Clare to give it up to the first guy who asks."

I saw it coming before it happened.

KC didn't.

I saw Eli clench his fists tighter.

KC didn't.

I saw the anger boil up in him straight to his emerald green eyes.

KC didn't.

I saw him pull his right fist back.

KC didn't.

It was like I was watching in slow motion. Eli swung his fist towards KC's face, and too late, KC realized what was happening. I saw Eli's fist collide with KC's jaw, and I saw KC fall to the floor.

"Eli!" I yelled, jumping out of my seat as Eli was shaking his hand.

"What the hell was that for!" KC asked from the ground.

"I told you to leave Clare alone," he said, "I told you twice!"

"Hey!" Peter yelled from the counter. "If you're gonna fight, you have to leave!"

"No problem," Eli said sinisterly, "You wanna take this outside?" He taunted KC.

"Eli, stop," I said, and he looked back at me, his expression changing instantly. He waited for me to say something else. "Take me home."

"But-" He started.

"Now," I cut him off.

Eli looked down to where KC was, then grabbed Morty's keys off the table we had been sitting at and headed to the exit.

When he was walking away, I bent down to where KC was still sitting, his hand on his jaw.

"I'm sorry," I said. I got up, and followed Eli, stopping only to tell Peter to give KC some ice for his jaw.

The ride back to my house was quiet.

When we finally got to my house, Eli put Morty in park, but I didn't get out of the car.

"Are you ever going to talk to me again, Clare?" He finally asked.

"You didn't have to punch him," I said.

"I didn't like what he was implying!"

"But I could have handled it myself," I said, even though deep down, part of me was glad he had stood up for my honor.

"Okay, I'm sorry I disappointed you," he said, "But I'm not sorry I punched the guy. And if he knows what's good for him, he won't come near you again."

"Eli, do you hear yourself?" I asked with shock in my voice.

He groaned and said, "Okay, fine, I won't hit him again."

"Promise?" I asked.

"Yes, I promise. Now give me a kiss before you leave."

I crossed my arms. I was still mad at him.

"Clare," he begged, "Please?"

"How do I know you won't go looking for him after you leave here?" I asked him.

"Come on, Clare, I promise I will not hurt KC ever again," he said. I looked over at him.

"Oh, okay," I said, leaning over to kiss him chastely before I got out of his car. I stood on my porch and watched him drive off and sighed, then went into my house.

It wasn't until after dinner that I got the call from Alli.

"Eli and KC got in a huge fight!" Alli said.

"What?" I practically shrieked.

"Yeah, and Eli was taken downtown with the police and KC was taken to the hospital!"

I started crying.

"Eli promised me he wouldn't go looking for KC!"

"I guess he lied," Alli said.

"Yeah, and you know what's worse than him lying to my face?"

"What?"

"Him lying to my face, then kissing me right after that."

"He lied to you just to get you to kiss him?"

I nodded, the tears coming faster, then I realized I was talking to Alli over the phone, and she couldn't see me, so I choked out, "Yeah."

"I'm so sorry," Alli said. "So…are you guys over?"

"Oh, we are most definitely over." I said, getting less sad and more angry by the second.

That Monday at school, I was getting books out of my locker as quickly as I could.

"Clare!" Eli called my name from down the hall. I obviously wasn't quick enough. But I slammed my locker closed anyway and started to walk away as fast as possible.

"Wait up!" He said, as he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. I jerked my arm away from him. "What's going on?"

"You lied to me," I said simply.

"But, Clare, I didn't mean to. You should have heard what he was telling his friends!"

"I don't care! You promised you wouldn't hurt him, but you did anyway!"

"So, what does this mean?"

"It means I can't trust you."

"So that's it?" He asked.

"We're through, Eli. I can't be with someone who lies to me."

He shoved his hands into his pockets, and looked down. He was angry and sad, and I tried not to crack when I saw his eyes filling up with water.

"Whatever," he said angrily.

"Yeah, whatever," I said, then walked away.

**i'll be your bff if you review :)**


	5. Can You Believe It?

**A/N: you guys better consider yourselves loved by me. i'm blowing off a lot of important things to continue this story.**

**anyyyyyyyway. yeah i'm not too sure about this chapter. i wrote it a different way.**

**on the bright side! i was on the eli goldsworthy page of the degrassi wikia, trying to see if tonight's episode had leaked (it hasn't ]: ), and i saw someone talking about this story! i felt special :) so thank you IiLovElii for getting the word out about my story :)**

**so yeah, enjoy this chapter, if that's possible.**

I didn't talk to Eli for more than two months after that happened.

"That was intense," Alli said as I walked away from Eli. "I think he might cry!"

"Let's just go to Science, okay?" I said.

"I think at least half of grade 11 saw that," she was still saying.

I whipped around. "What are you trying to say Alli?" I asked in an exasperated tone.

"Nothing," she said, in a way that was just so typically Alli.

I rolled my eyes at her, and we started walking again.

"I bet he finds some really romantic way to apologize, and you two will be back together by tomorrow," she said, and when I turned around to yell at her, she squealed, covered her face with her book, and ran into the nearest classroom.

Adam tried talking to me.

"Eli's really upset," he said after cornering me in JT's memorial garden.

"That's too bad," I said sarcastically.

"You need to talk to him."

"I'm not talking to him."

"But he-"

"He lied to me, Adam. He lied to my face, and then he kissed me. I'm not going to waste my time on someone who can't do something so simple as telling the truth."

Eli tried everything to get me to talk to him.

"Has he even tried to apologize yet?" Alli asked after school one day as we were walking to my locker.

"He's tried talking to me, he's tried to get Adam to convince me to talk to him, he's even tried writing stories in English where the characters are Clarice and Levi, and they're in the same situation, and Levi does this big spectacular thing to show he's sorry, and Clarice forgives him and takes him back." I said as I was putting in my locker combination.

"And you still haven't talked to him?" She asked him disbelief. As I opened my locker, a folded up piece of paper fell to the ground, and as I bent down to pick it up, Alli asked, "What's that?"

I straightened up and snorted as I read what was on the paper.

"It's a poem from Eli, apologizing," I said, and Alli gasped and snatched it from my hands. "Hey!" I protested.

"Oh my god," Alli said as she read the poem, "Clare this is the sweetest thing I've ever read, you have to talk to him!"

"No," I said, snatching the poem from her.

"Clare, this isn't like you!" Alli said as we started walking to the front of the school. "You must really like him."

KC even came and talked to me.

"KC, this is mostly YOUR FAULT, now get in there!" Alli said from outside the library, where she was trying to shove KC in the door.

"No, Alli," he said, trying to fight her. Eventually, he gave up and was forced into the library. He looked around for me, and when he saw me, he walked over and sat down.

"Hey, Clare," he said. I ignored him and continued reading. "So, yeah, you should probably talk to that Eli kid. I mean cause you know, it wasn't really his fault and-"

"KC, don't you have more important things to do than this?" I asked. "What is Alli blackmailing you with?"

He sighed.

"Something huge," he said.

I went back to reading, expecting him to get up and leave.

"Clare, I've never seen you so happy as when you're with Eli," he paused, then said, "Not even with me."

"Well you're wrong, KC, I was happy with you. _You _were the one who wasn't happy with _me._"

"I know," he said, "And I'm sorry. I'm also sorry about telling all those guys you slept with Eli. It's not my business what you and your boyfriend do. I just thought, maybe if I got you two to break up, I'd have another chance with-"

"KC," I cut him off, "I didn't reject you because I was with Eli. I rejected you because I don't wanna be with you anymore. And you can tell people whatever you like, because whatever you tell them won't be true."

"Okay, but Clare, what I don't get is, I _heard _you when I was talking to him on the phone."

I sighed and put down my book.

"Yes, KC, I was there. My parents are getting divorced, and I couldn't stand to go home to their screaming. So, I went to Eli's house, we watched a movie, and then we fell asleep. And before you ask, yes, we slept in the same bed, and before you criticize me, stop and think: _You're _the one who got Jenna pregnant, so do you really have room to judge about two people who are seeing each other sleeping in the same bed?

Eventually, I tried to move on.

"You're dating _Wesley?_" Alli asked incredulously as she slammed my locker shut.

"We're not dating, we're just…going out on a date tonight."

"But _Wesley_?"

"Yes, Alli, Wesley."

"Didn't he ask you out last year and you turned him down?"

"Yes, Alli."

"So what made you change your mind."

That question made me stop and think. Why had I changed my mind? I guess, truthfully, I hadn't. I just felt bad for him, and had nothing better to do.

Of course, I didn't tell Alli that.

"Will you just let me date who I want to date?" I asked. I immediately regretted asking that when I saw the smile on her face as she started to walk away.

"Sure, I'll let you date Eli."

Wesley broke up with me after a few weeks.

"Clare, I'm really sorry, but…maybe we should see other people?" It came out a question.

"Sure," I said, not caring. I was beyond the point of caring.

"Did you hear me Clare?" He asked, "I said we should see other people."

"Yeah, I heard you Wesley."

"It's just, you seem so calm about it."

He was right. I wasn't feeling anything at all, my heart wasn't breaking. You can't break something that's already broken beyond repair.

"Wesley," I put on a fake smile, "I agree with you. But we should definitely still be friends."

He seemed relieved.

"Y-yeah, friends, totally."

Word got back to Eli that I was single.

"Clare," he said, walking down the empty hall towards me. I don't know how he knew I'd be there, it was the middle of class. He probably waited for me.

"I don't have time to talk to you," I said.

"Well, make time," he said.

I turned to look at him with disbelief in my eyes. He was standing just out of my reach. In a few more steps he'd be right in front of me, but he stopped walking.

"Listen, you have to hear me out: I didn't go looking for KC. I just went back to the Dot to try and pick up an extra shift, and there he was, bragging to all of his friends that he'd caught you in bed with an older guy. I couldn't let him say those things about you." He finished, breathing heavy.

I started crying.

"I know," I said, looking down at the ground.

"But Clare I- Wait, what? You know? Why are you crying?"

My sudden mood-swing was freaking him out.

"I know why you did what you did, KC came and talked to me."

"But, if you know, why-?" He started, but I cut him off.

"Why didn't I come talk to you? I was stubborn. And scared. But mostly stubborn." I sniffed and looked him in the eye.

"So, do you forgive me?" He asked, smirking his signature smirk. He knew he was back in, so I just nodded my head. His smirk turned into a full out smile, and I smiled too. I dropped the books I was carrying and closed the distance between us. I jumped up into his arms, my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. I looked down into his eyes and kissed him. He spun us around while we kissed. When he stopped, I jumped down and he deepened our kiss. When we finally came up for air, he put his forehead on mine.

"So, just to be clear, next time I hear someone talking about my girlfriend, I should just agree with what they say." He smirked at me.

I hit him playfully on the arm. "You are so smug," I said as we started walking down the hall.

"I have every reason to be," he said, putting his arm around me. "I have the pleasure of calling the lovely Clare Edwards mine."

**not the end, i promise :)**

**remember, reviewwwww!**


	6. I Can See It Now

**A/N: hey you guys. i know i said that chapter five wouldn't be the end, but i lied. i didn't mean to, and i'm really sorry because i did try to add more, it just didn't feel right. where i had ended it just felt like the end, and no matter what i did, i couldn't come up with a way to add more. another thing is, after watching the summer finale, i just got so many ideas for new stories about what happened over break and when they get back. but if it makes you feel any better, this is the first story i've ever actually finished! so i'm sorry i lied to you guys, and i'm sorry that i promised it wasn't the end when it was. i admit, even when i was writing it, i knew it would be the end. i just didn't wanna disappoint you all. maybe i'll write a sequel some day. you never know :) thank you all so much for reading, you've all been so incredible!**


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